Category Archives: Names

Post navigation

Chechen is a Northeast Caucasian language, most closely related to Ingush and Bats. It’s spoken by 1.4 million people in the Chechen Republic, and by large diaspora communities in Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Georgia, Jordan, and Iraq. There are also decent-sized diaspora communities in Syria, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.

Some of the orphaned and kidnapped children sent to Mrs. Brezhneva’s Kyiv orphanage in my first three Russian historicals are Chechens. In my first Russian historical, a little Chechen girl asks “What’s a patronymic?” when Mrs. Brezhneva is complaining about how the new non-Slavic arrivals didn’t have patronymics in their cultures.

Alphabet:

Though some Chechen inscriptions are written in Georgian script, Arabic was the traditionally-used alphabet. During the 19th century reign of Imam Shamil, Chechen Arabic was reformed. Later reforms came in 1910, 1920, and 1922. Simultaneously, there was an academic alphabet with Georgian, Latin, and Cyrillic characters.

In 1925, Latin script was introduced, and unified with the Ingush Latin alphabet in 1934. In 1938, as part of Stalin’s cruel Russification policies, Cyrillic was forced upon the Chechen people. Latin script returned in 1992, but Cyrillic was forced upon the people again after the defeat of the secessionist government.

Chechen separatists still prefer Latin letters, as well they should. Yeltsin opened up a huge can of worms when he decided to invade Chechnya. Instead of scoring some easy political points to help with getting his approval ratings out of the toilet, countless new problems were created.

Surnames:

As expected, due to being under the Russian heel since the 19th century, many Chechen surnames have Russian suffixes like -ov(a), -in(a), and -(y)ev(a). However, like with other forcibly Russified surnames, they have native linguistic and onomastic twists.

Share this:

Like this:

Though Sweden doesn’t have a list of approved names like Iceland, Hungary, or Portugal, all names nevertheless must be approved. Names considered offensive, liable to cause discomfort, or ridiculous won’t be approved. Parents have three months to submit names. This law also applies to adults wanting to change their own names.

Some people have submitted blatantly ridiculous names in protest, like Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced Albin), though most parents submit socially-acceptable names.

My Polish-born Robleński family finds refuge in Sweden during WWII. First the eight youngest siblings and their then-unofficially adopted sister manage to sneak their way out of their bunker in the woods and onto a ship bound for Sweden, due to the bravery and ingenuity of sixth-born Maria. They’re eventually joined by their four oldest siblings.

Magdalena Brandt, the oldest daughter of Sparky (Katherine) Brandt and Lazarus von Hinderburg, also marries a very liberal Swede, Zeevie Peterson, who loves to goad Magdalena’s religious fanatic cousin Joshua. Zeevie starts a New Age synagogue, B’nei v’Batei Ha’Olam (Sons and Daughters of the World).

Alphabet:

Swedish uses the Roman alphabet, with the addition of Å, Ä, and Ö. Unlike Danish and Norwegian, Swedish doesn’t use Ø or Æ. In the modern era, Q, W, and Z are rare.

Surnames:

Many Swedish surnames are patronymical, ending in -sson (e.g., Alfredsson, Carlsson, Einarsson, Gunnarsson, Martinsson). In the 15th century, the gentry (nobles and clergy) began using Swedish, Latin, German, and Greek surnames. Latinization of the patronymic (e.g., Petersson to Petri) and birthplaces were very common.

In the 19th century, these traditional patronymics became permanent family names. Wanting to copy the gentry, the bourgeoisie adopted surnames too. These were often Latinized, to pretend they came from high birth and old pedigrees.

Ennobled families were frequently given new surnames. Popular prefixes included Silfver- (silver), Gyllen- (guilded; golden), Ära- (honor), Adler- (German for “eagle”), and Ehren- (German for “honor”).

Share this:

Like this:

Hawaiian belongs to the Austronesian language family, on the Marquesic sub-branch of the Central Eastern Polynesian group. Along with English, it’s the official language of the 50th and final state to join the U.S.

Like many other native languages which fell under the heel of colonial or more dominant powers, Hawaiian too suffered devastating blows, and came very close to extinction. It was banned in 1896, and children who dared to speak Hawaiian at school were horribly punished.

Thankfully, Hawaiian has begun to recover, thanks to language immersion preschools, radio stations, TV, newspapers, and other initiatives. In 1900, there were 27,000 native speakers, and this number had dwindled to but 1,000 by 1997, representing under 0.1%. In 2011, it had risen to 24,000. Residents of westernmost island Ni’ihau speak Hawaiian almost exclusively.

The four youngest sisters in my Laurel family, along with their husbands and children, move from Atlantic City to Hawaii in 1986. Their destination is a huge surprise planned by Tikva’s husband Giorgio, a future pediatrician specializing in premature infants and children. It’s exactly what they need to start over after a lot of depressing, traumatic events. In Honolulu, they begin their own fashion design company, Four Laurels.

Alphabet:

The alphabet developed by American Protestant missionary Elisha Loomis in 1822 had five vowels, twelve consonants, and seven diphthongs. F, G, S, Y, and Z were used for foreign words and names.

In 1826, the alphabet assumed its modern form of five vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and eight consonants (H, K, L, M, N, P, W, and ‘okina). The lattermost is a unicameral consonant (without upper or lowercase forms) marking a phonetic glottal stop. Originally, the alphabet had contained B, R, D, T, and V, but they were dropped due to representing functionally redundant, interchangeable sounds.

Traditional naming customs:

Hawaiians took great care to choose a unique name for each child, with great thought as to the meaning. Some names came from dreams or visions, while others related to something that happened at the time of the birth. Queen Lili’uokalani, Hawaii’s last reigning monarch, was called Lili’u (scorch) Kamaka’eha (the sore eye) when she was growing up, due to her great-aunt Kīnaʻu’s eye ache.

Names had to match social class and family deities. The kauwā (slave) caste had to take simple names after natural objects, while chieftains got to have names starting with Keliʻi (the chief) or ending in -lani (sky).

Many people had several names, both formal and informal, and could change their names to something with a grotesque meaning to try to ward off evil spirits. Visiting Americans were scandalized to learn of names such as Kūkae (excrement), Kapela (the filth), Kama’i (the genitals, the illness), and Pupuka (ugly).

Surnames:

Hawaiians didn’t have surnames until Western missionaries arrived. Christian converts sometimes used their Hawaiian names as surnames, with the new baptismal names taking the place of their old forenames.

In 1860, people were ordered to use their father’s name as a surname. All children born henceforth had to have English names. Any Hawaiian names had to be in the middle. In 1967, this legislation was repealed, though by that point, the Hawaiian language was in a serious state of endangerment.

Ha’aheo (Cherished with pride) Hanalei (Crescent bay; also a Hawaiian form of Henry) Hau’oli (Happiness) Hekili (Thunderl also a Hawaiian form of Herman) Hiapo (Firstborn) Hi’ilani (Held in the arms of heaven) Hilina’i (Trust) Hokule’a (Star of gladness; the Hawaiian name for Arcturus, the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere, and Hawaii’s zenith star) Hokuokalani (Star of the heavens) Ho’onani (Adornment) Hualani (Heavenly fruit)

Ka’aukai (The seafarer) Ka’ehu (The sea spray; the reddish hair) Ka’ena (The heat) Kahananui (The great work; the hard job) Kahekili (The thunder) Kahele (The walk; the moving) Kahoku (The star) Kahue (The gourd) Kahula (The dance) Kai (Sea) Kaimana (Ocean power; diamond) Kainoa (Sea of freedom) Kaipo (The sweetheart) Kaiwi (The bone; a symbol of old age and life) Kalani (The heavens) Kalua (The second child; the companion) Kamalani (Heavenly child) Kapua (The flower; the child) Kaui (The youthful one) Kaulana (Famous) Kawehi (The adornment) Keahi (The fire) Keaka (The shodow; the essence) Keala (The path) Kealoha (The loved one) Keanu (The cool breeze) Keone (The homeland) Konani (Bright)

Share this:

Like this:

The Uzbeks are the largest Turkic people in Central Asia, and their language (on the Karluk sub-branch of the Turkic language family) has 27 million native speakers. Due to where Uzbekistan is geographically situated, and given the history of the area, the language has a number of Persian, Arabic, and Russian influences.

Outside of Uzbekistan, there are large diaspora communities in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Australia, Pakistan, the U.S., Turkey, Ukraine, and China. Mongolia also has a small Uzbek community.

A number of the children at Mrs. Brezhneva’s Kyiv orphanage in my first three Russian historicals are Uzbek, orphaned or kidnapped during the Civil War and early years of the Soviet Union. When the orphanage partially, surreptitiously relocates to Isfahan, Iran, during the Great Terror in 1937, five of the children chosen are Uzbek.

Alphabet:

Like all the other Turkic languages, Uzbek too was historically written in Arabic script. Since nationalism was encouraged during the early years of the USSR, there was a comprehensive program to teach the people how to read and write. In 1924, a proposal for the Romanization of the Arabic Uzbek alphabet was developed, and from 1928–30, Uzbek switched to the Latin alphabet. In 1940, Stalin forced Cyrillic upon them.

In 1992, after Uzbekistan gained her independence, Latin returned, though Cyrillic is still widely used. The deadline for making the transition back to Latin only keeps getting pushed off, though the usage of the Roman alphabet has become more and more widespread.

The modern Uzbek Latin alphabet has 29 letters. Unfamiliar letters are Oʻ, Gʻ, SH, CH, and NG, and missing letters are C and W. When written in Cyrillic, it contains the additional letters Ҳ (H), Қ (Q), and НГ (NG), and transliterates Ж as J instead of ZH, and X as X instead of KH. Some of their letters also come much later in the alphabet than they do in Russian.

Surnames:

Due to so many years of Russification, many Uzbek names still bear endings like -ov(a), -in(a), and -(y)ev(a). They also have Turkic, Persian, and Arabic twists. Sample surnames include Karimov, Nabiyev, Abdulin, Abdulayev, Burkhanov, Azmatov, Choriyev, Islambekov, Ravshanov, and Rakhimov.

Share this:

Like this:

Tatar is a Turkic language, part of the Kipchak–Bulgar sub-branch (not to be confused with Crimean Tatar, a member of the Oghuz sub-branch). The Tatar people are a large, well-known ethnic group in Russia. Tatar is also spoken by the Finno–Ugric Maris (who live along the Volga and Kama rivers) and the Qararays of Mordovia.

Many Tatars also live in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, China, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Romania, Belarus, Lithuania, and the U.S. Smaller diaspora groups can be found in Canada, Estonia, Poland, Georgia, Armenia, Bulgaria, and Finland.

Some of the children in Mrs. Brezhneva’s Kyiv orphanage in my first three Russian historicals are Tatars, orphaned or taken from their parents during the terror and chaos of the Civil War and early years of the Soviet Union. When the orphanage partially, surreptitiously relocates to Isfahan, Iran, during the Great Terror in 1937, one of the fifty children selected is a 15-year-old Tatar. Matviyko Zyuganov, who lives many years in Kraków, also knew several Tatars.

Alphabet:

Prior to 1928, Tatar was written in Arabic script, with a few letters borrowed from Persian. In 1928, the Latin alphabet was introduced, and then, in 1939, Cyrillic was forced upon the Tatar people. It’s so richly ironic how Russification was forced on all these non-Russians when Stalin himself was Georgian.

Kryashen (or Keräşen) Tatars, who are Orthodox Christians, have been using the Cyrillic alphabet since the 19th century. They still use the pre-1917 letters for religious words, as well as Ä, Ö, Ӱ, and НГ (NG).

The official Tatar Cyrillic alphabet has 39 letters, including Ә (Ä), Җ (C), Ң (Ñ), Ө (Ö), Ү (Ü or W), and Һ (H). Additionally, Ч is transliterated as Ç instead of CH; Ш is Ş instead of SH; Щ is ŞÇ instead of SHCH; B can be W instead of only V; Ж is J instead of ZH; K can be Q instead of only K; У can be W instead of only U; X is X instead of KH; and Ы is I instead of Y.

Surnames:

Owing to so many years of cruel Russification policies, many Tatar surnames have endings like -in(a), -ov(a), and -(y)ev(a). However, as with all other peoples historically subjugated by the Russian Empire and USSR, they have their own native twists. Examples of surnames include Yakhin, Khismatullin, Shabayev, Gimayev, Akhatov, Ibragimov, Gizzatullin, Fayzulin, and Batyrshin.

Historically, Tatars used patronymics. Surnames appeared in the late 19th century and replaced patronymics. Under the Soviet heel, patronymics reappeared, though in the Russian style, as middle names.

Name sources:

Again owing to Russian influence, Tatars who live in Russia must have their names translated into Russian on their passports (along with their true Tatar names). Christian Tatars use their religious names on official documents, and their Tatar names in everyday life.

Besides Russian, many Tatar names are adopted from Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Mongolian, and Hebrew. After the 1917 Revolution, many people used the popular invented names such as Ninel, Novomir, Velira, and Vladlen. Other people named their kids after important political or cultural figures, like Albert Einstein and Fidel Castro.

Share this:

Like this:

Post navigation

My other blog, Onomastics Outside the Box

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,523 other followers

Writer of 20th century historical fiction sagas and series, with elements of women's fiction, romance, and Bildungsroman. I was born in the wrong generation on several fronts. I'm crunchy within reason, predominantly left-handed, and an aspiring hyper polyglot. Oh, and I've been a passionate Russophile for over 20 years, as well as a passionate Estophile, Armenophile, Magyarphile, Kartvelophile, Persophile, Slavophile, and Nipponophile.

For the climax of my contemporary historical WIP, I'd love to talk to any Duranies who went to the 13 March 1984 Sing Blue Silver show in Hartford, CT. I'd be so grateful to have first-person sources provide any information about what that snowstorm and concert were like!

I usually post on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays. ALL SATURDAY POSTS ARE PRE-SCHEDULED. I NEVER POST IN REAL TIME ON SHABBOS.